|
The Australian national rugby league team (or the Kangaroos) have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League, the Kangaroos are ranked second in the RLIF World Rankings. The team are the most successful in Rugby League World Cup history, having contested all 14 and winning 10 of them, failing to reach the final only once, in the inaugural tournament in 1954. Only four nations have beaten Australia in test matches, and Australia have an overall win percentage of 67%. Dating back to 1908, Australia are the fourth oldest national side after England, New Zealand and Wales. The team were first assembled in 1908 for a tour of Great Britain. The majority of the Kangaroos' games since then have been played against Great Britain and New Zealand. In the first half of the 20th century, Australia's international competition came from alternating tours to Great Britain and New Zealand, with Australia playing host to these teams in non-tour years. On tours to Great Britain (and later France), Australia was known as the Kangaroos. Great Britain dominated in the early years, and Australia did not win a Test against the Lions until 11 November 1911 under captain Chris McKivat. Australia did not win a series at home against Great Britain until 1920 or abroad until 1958. Since 7 July 1994 the team's official nickname has been the Kangaroos, though they had unofficially been referred to as such since 1908. Previously, the Australian team was only referred to as the Kangaroos when on tours of Great Britain or France. In 1997 Australia was also represented by a ''Super League Australia'' team, drawing on players from that year's Super League competition. While in the past players for the side had been selected from clubs in various leagues around the country, in recent years the side has consisted exclusively of players from clubs of the National Rugby League. ==History== Rugby football has been played in Australia since the 1860s. In 1863 Sydney University became the first rugby club to be formed in Sydney, and would play games amongst themselves or against the crews of visiting British ships. The Sydney Football Club (1865) and the Wallaroos (1870) followed, and inter-club competition commenced. By 1880, there were 100 clubs across the country, and rugby quickly became the dominant winter sport for Sydney. In 1888 an English team visited Australasia, playing rugby rules in Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand, and Australian rules football in Victoria and South Australia. In 1899, an Australian team was formed for the first time using players from Queensland and New South Wales. They played a series of Tests against a British team. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Australia national rugby league team」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|